Answers sought in death of minister

Norton Shores police say there was no foul play involved in the death of a 56-year-old former Muskegon area Lutheran minister whose body was found along the Lake Michigan shoreline Saturday.

John M. Grostic

Beyond that, police aren't sure what caused the death of John Marvin Grostic, now living in Grand Haven. They hope an autopsy will provide an answer.

"We're interviewing friends and family," said Detective Lt. Timothy LaVigne. "Some personal effects were located on the beach along with medications."

LaVigne said no signs of trauma were found on Grostic's body, which was discovered about 1 p.m. by a woman walking her dog on the beach in the 5200 block of Lake Harbor Road, north of Elks Park and south of Maranatha Bible and Missionary Conference property.

Grostic, of 413 N. Sixth, used to live at Woodland Ridge Apartments in Spring Lake, where he frequently walked through the woods to the beach to sit and read, police said.

LaVigne said his vehicle was found at the apartment complex. The last time anyone saw him was Friday afternoon.

Police believe he may have died sometime early Saturday morning. Grostic was wearing jeans, tennis shoes and no shirt. He was in the water at the shoreline, nearly five miles north of the Woodland Ridge complex.

Ordained as a minister in 1993, Grostic was a former pastor at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Muskegon.

Jan Johnson, who is the chaplain at Central United Methodist Church in Muskegon, attended Our Savior's while Grostic was minister there. She remembered him as having a "pastor's heart" who had "a gift for asking the right questions."

She called his preaching style "invitational."

"His preaching let you know about his relationship with God and let you know the relationship you could have, too," Johnson said.

He left the ministry about five years ago.

Police said he currently was employed at Kandu Incorporated in Ottawa County, a nonprofit group that provides employment training for people with disabilities.

Beth Childress cq, who is director of services of Kandu Inc. in Grand Haven, said the agency's staff and consumers were "reeling" at the news of Grostic's death.

"It's just really difficult around here today," she said.

Grostic, whose was a community skills instructor, started at Kandu in 2004 as a job coach. His most recent job paired him with "folks with barriers to employment."

"He did an excellent job. He was such an asset," Childress said. " The people we serve really loved him."

Grostic grew up in Portage and, after graduating from college, was a Peace Corps volunteer in the African country of Sierra Leone.

He attended law school at the University of Michigan. For 12 years, he was a trial attorney, making a name for himself in medical malpractice cases.

Grostic also was a managing partner at the law firm of Smith, Haughey, Rice and Roegge in Grand Rapids. He supervised 70 attorneys in Grand Rapids, Lansing and Traverse City.

During an interview nearly 10 years ago, Grostic told The Chronicle he saw the hand of God in his journey to the ministry.

"There really is a sense of call. It's not a feeling, and it's not just some knowledge. It's much more profound than that," he said. "It's something you feel like you're supposed to be doing."

While still a managing partner for his law firm, Grostic attended Western Theological Seminary in Holland part-time. He later moved with his family to Columbus, Ohio, where he began full-time studies at Trinity Lutheran Seminary.